“I really thought he would never make it,” he adds. “He was seriously injured. He was extremely young, emaciated and very, very sick.”

Marx got the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics to build a prosthetics for Chhouk.

“It’s changed his life,” he says. “From being a tired little chap who slept a lot when he went on his walks, he’s now lively and energetic. He never stops.”

As for Chhouk’s predators, Marx says the illegal wildlife trade and widespread animal suffering and death are one of the biggest illicit enterprises on the planet, estimated to generate between $5 billion and $20 billion per year, with Asia being the biggest marketplace.

Elephants are targeted for their ivory tusks which can bring millions of dollars but leaves the species on the verge of extinction, according to the Worldwide Wildlife Federation.